Ancelotti conceded this week his chances of staying at the club were no more than '50-50', with persistent rumours he could switch to Real Madrid in the event of Jose Mourinho's departure.

Ancelotti told L'Equipe: "Today it's 50-50. I'm well integrated here and I'm not a person who likes change. I was disappointed when I left Chelsea and if I leave Paris I will also be sad.

"I have not yet spoken with the club. We will have a meeting and then we'll see. Everyone knows I have a contract until 2014. First I want to help the club for the rest of the season and plan for the future."

Second-placed Marseille take on sixth-placed St Etienne at the Stade Velodrome with the visitors still smarting from last week's loss at Lorient which severely hit their Champions League hopes.

Christophe Galtier's men now need those above them to slip up in the final two games and Galtier admitted: "I was angry after the game with Lorient. I need the players to explain what happened because tiredness is not enough."

Nice and Lyon both have the third and final Champions League qualifying slot in mind as they prepare to meet in a crucial game at the Stade Municipal du Ray.

Nice saw their hopes hit in last week's shock 4-0 loss at struggling Evian, but a win would move them level on points with the visitors, who are also seeking to recover from Sunday's home defeat to PSG.

The pair's slip-ups have let in Lille, who moved up to fourth place last weekend and know a win at outgoing champions Montpellier could move them up to third depending on the result in Nice.

At the bottom, back-to-back wins have given Troyes hope of avoiding relegation but realistically they need a third win at home to eighth-placed Bordeaux to stand a chance of avoiding the drop.

Evian jumped out of the bottom three with last week's stunning 4-0 win over Nice and can move further to safety with a win at home to Valenciennes, and Evians revival plus two consecutive defeats of their own have dropped Nancy back into the bottom three and they head to Bastia two points adrift of safety.

Reims and Ajaccio are still not quite safe after their respective defeats last weekend, but a win for Reims at home to Lorient and the Corsicans away to Rennes would almost certainly secure their survival.

Sochaux also still have a mathematical possibility of being dragged back into the drop zone but after two straight wins they will go into their penultimate fixture at home to Toulouse with confidence.

Readers' Comments

I

t's wrong to be making a joke out of Bender's name at the expense of gay people. It's the kind of childish, uncivilised thing that Football365 would deride and ridicule if it was another media outlet saying. Why is there a need for jokes like this? Does it make your writers feel like men? F365 might suggest that I 'lighten up', but it is genuinely traumatic for people who have been oppressed all their lives to be the butt of jokes, and to be told...

ou can't blame De Gea for wanting to leave, he has enough to do in front of goal as it is as well as taking on the role of Man Utd's version of Derek Acorah in trying to contact and organise a defence that isn't there.